by all things holy

..or just my disappointment, whichever -- either way, i have just received a crushing blow. after victoria burst my bubble (hah) and told me there isn't a new outlander book out, i decided to go look at the web site (http://www.its.caltech.edu/~gatti/gabaldon/) since i know she has one from previous searchings. i scroll down a bit, and i see this:

21 August 2007
(blah blah blah here)...
And in Book Seven News...
I still don't have a working title, but I do have a first line! (Well, quite a bit more than that, to be sure, but the fact that I now know where The Beginning is, is important.) Said first line being:
"The pirate's head had disappeared."
And if that tells you anything...more power to you!

GAHHHHH! this clearly means it is nowhere NEAR publication. which means MONTHS, possibly even a YEAR, until book 7 comes out.

sigh. i am crushed. i was so looking forward to another book, and i am close to being done with book 5 (yes, i know i reread them in backwards order, what with starting with 6. and now i may have to go read the others as well, since i clearly won't get any new ones right now. but there's no bree and roger and jemmy in those. :( i quite like them.)

on an odd? side, she had this up:
If any of you have wanted to see a physical representation of the Claire's wedding ring, now's your chance. "In 2006 Janice Millford (JaniceM) and Michelle Moore (M&M), of various Diana Gabaldon book discussion groups wanted a Claire's ring. We asked and received permission from Diana Gabaldon and took upon the task of having Claire's ring from the novel Outlander brought to life."
(in case that doesn't come out, the link is: http://www.ivmoores.com/claires_ring/claires_ring.htm)

i went to the link, and i have to say, i don't think so. that's terribly impractical for everyday life in the 1700s in scotland OR america. can you IMAGINE the gunk that would get caught in there? food, dirt, grime, filth, waste, and in her case, blood.. and with no defining way to get it out, ie, no spraying water. ew. that would be super gross. i am going to prefer to think of the design etched onto a silver ring instead of carved into. because really. that's just so impractical.

there is a new lord john book out, though. that can do in a pinch, i guess. :-/ i have read Lord John and the Private Matter.. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade is the newest one. hopefully it includes william, it'll be fun to see if he has any characteristics of jamie. and apparently Lord John and the Hand of the Devils ('a collection of three novellas') is to be published nov. 27. so i guess those are good. but it does definitively say "Untitled Book 7 of the Outlander series. There is no publication date at this time for this book." on the (only! grr) plus side, there are two excerpts from the book. better than nothing, i suppose!

::scampers off to read::